Members of the Shuheibar family from Gaza City are pursuing in justice French company Exxelia Technologies for having allegedly sold a sensor used in a missile that killed three children on their roof.

A Palestinian family filed suit in France on Wednesday against the French company Exxelia Technologies for alleged complicity in war crimes and manslaughter. The plaintiffs, represented by the law firm Ancile-avocats and assisted by the Christian NGO ACAT, are members of the Shuheibar family residing in Gaza City who had three children die in an Israeli strike in 2014.

On July 17, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, a missile—apparently fired by a drone—struck the roof of the family's house where five children were feeding pigeons. A girl, Afnan, 8, and two boys, Wassim, 9, and Jihad, 10, were killed. Two other boys, Udai, 15, and his cousin Bassil, 9, where seriously wounded.

A French-made component was found amongst the debris of the missile fired at the house. ACAT and its Palestinian partner documented the attack, collected testimonies, and submitted the debris for analysis by international military experts.

The expert reports established that the French component found was a Hall effect sensor made by the French company Eurofarad, today named Exxelia Technologies after its acquisition by Exxelia Group in 2015. This component is part of a small-grade missile fired by air, apparently by a drone.

The survivors and witnesses claim that no military target was present in the house at the time of the attack or at any other time. If this is the case, the house would be considered a civilian target that could not be attacked under international law, and violation of this would constitute a war crime.

The plaintiffs accuse the French company of being guilty of implication in war crimes, or at least of manslaughter if it is proven that it sold the sensor to an Israeli defense company.

Joseph Breham, an attorney with Ancile-avocats, said, "It's unfortunate that the blatant impunity for war crimes committed in Gaza forces the victims to employ French justice. His colleague, Ingrid Metton, said, "The French arms industy can no longer escape its morale and legal responsibility. Selling materials that are used for war crimes must be severely punished."

Hélène Legeay, head of North African/Middle Eastern programs at ACAT, said "Beyond the Exxelia case, we call on France to show responsibility, (the country that) played a key role in the development and adoption of the Arms Aid Treaty." This treaty forbids states from exporting arms and components that could be used to commit war crimes.

"Instead of congratulating itself for selling arms to countries that commit grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law, France should ensure that in the future, one will not be able to find a single French-made piece at a war-crime site."

Israeli soldiers, stationed across the border fence, fired several live rounds, on Thursday morning, on Palestinian farmers and their lands, in central Gaza and in the southern part of the coastal region.

The WAFA Palestinian News Agency has reported that the soldiers, stationed on military towers southeast of Deir al-Balah city, in central Gaza, fired dozens of live rounds into Palestinian farmlands, as the residents were trying to enter them, forcing them to leave in fear of further escalation.

WAFA added that the soldiers, stationed on military towers across the border fence east of the al-Qarara town, northeast of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the coastal regions, also fired dozens of live rounds into Palestinian lands.

In addition, Palestinian areas across the border fence in Gaza witnessed an increase in Israeli military activities, including extensive deployment across the border fence, and the firing of smoke bombs while army drones flew overhead.

The soldiers conduct daily violations against the Palestinian farmers who are trying to enter and work on their lands in border areas, in the northern and eastern parts of the Gaza Strip, in addition to the constant attacks targeting Gaza fishers in Palestinian territorial waters.

Israeli forces, Tuesday, reportedly opened fire at Palestinian farmers in the eastern part of al-Qarrara, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said Israeli forces deployed at the eastern borders of al-Qarrara opened “heavy” fire at farmers in the area.No injuries were reported, according to Ma’an.

An Israeli army spokesperson said she was “looking into reports”.

On a near-daily basis, the Israeli army fires “warning shots” at Palestinian fishermen, farmers, and shepherds entering the Israeli-enforced “buffer zone” on land and sea, implemented after Israel imposed a blockade on the region a decade ago.

Due to the high frequency of the attacks, live fire often goes unreported.

While Israel typically cites security concerns when targeting Palestinian agricultural areas, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has reported, in the past, that fishermen were often targeted when they posed no threat.

Approximately 35 percent of Palestinian agricultural land in Gaza is inaccessible without high personal risk, according to the center.

Israeli soldiers, stationed on military towers across the border fence, opened fire, on Monday morning, into Palestinian agricultural lands across the border fence, in the Gaza Strip, while navy ships fired live rounds targeting fishing boats northwest of Gaza city.

The WAFA Palestinian News Agency has reported that the soldiers fired many live rounds into Palestinian agricultural lands, east of Gaza city, forcing the farmers to leave. The attack caused no casualties.

WAFA added that a similar attack targeted farmers on their own lands, east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

In addition, Israeli navy ships fired many live rounds targeting Palestinian fishing boats in the Sudaniyya Sea area, northwest of Gaza City, causing damage to two boats, and forcing the fishers back to shore.

A temporary extension imposed by Israeli authorities, on the designated fishing zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip, expired on Sunday, reducing the zone to six nautical miles after it had been set to nine miles, for one week.

Head of Gaza’s fishermen union Nizar Ayyash told Ma’an News Agency that Israeli authorities, at midnight, confirmed to the union via the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture that the zone would be reduced.

“A nine-mile zone is already a narrow fishing zone, so can you imagine the challenge when we are forced to sail within six miles,” Ayyash said, adding that fish were abundant only after the nine-mile point from the shore.

Some fishermen said that reducing the fishing zone from nine to six miles would allow only 30 percent of fishermen to go on fishing trips because the area was too narrow for all Gaza fishermen.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories COGAT released a statement, last Monday, leading up to the extension, saying that it had been made “on the occasion of Ramadan, and due to abundance of fish this season.”

“We hope that fishermen respect understandings and agreements and do not violate the available fishing area, and to take advantage of this step to benefit the people of Gaza,” the statement added.

Furthermore, Zakariyya Abu Bakr, the head of the Union of Agricultural Workers Committees slammed, on Sunday, Israel’s treatment of fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

“The (Israeli) occupation created a big fuss when they extending the zone to nine nautical miles for the fishermen, though Israeli assaults against fishermen have only increased during that period.”

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishermen on at least one occasion, over the past week, though due the high frequency of such incidents, live fire on fishing boats often go unreported. According to UN documentation, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians in Gaza’s border areas on land and sea on at least 22 occasions, between June 14 and 20.

As part of Israel’s blockade off the coastal enclave since 2007, Palestinian fishermen have been required to work within a limited “designated fishing zone.”

The exact limits of the zone are decided by the Israeli authorities and have historically fluctuated, most recently extended to six nautical miles from three, following a ceasefire agreement that ended Israel’s 2014 offensive on the Palestinian territory.

However, the fishing zone was technically set to 20 nautical miles according to the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the PA in the early 1990s.The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has reported that Israeli naval forces often open fire on fishermen within these limits, putting their lives in danger on a near-daily basis.

The Israeli army often says, in such circumstances, that the use of live fire is necessary to deter potential “security threats,” a policy which has, in effect, destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sectors of the impoverished coastal Palestinian territory, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is slated to visit Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and 1948 Occupied Palestine next week for a two-day round of meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

The visit, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday next week, will take him to Occupied Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, Secretary-General's official spokesman, Estefan Dogrec, said in a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.

Ban Ki-moon is slated to pay a special visit to the Gaza Strip during his visit in order to inspect from up close restrictions on free movement of the Palestinians at border-crossings controlled by Egyptian and Israeli parties.

Ban Ki-moon popped in the Gaza Strip in October 2014 for a short stopover aimed at keeping tabs on the damage inflicted by the Israeli offensive on the besieged coastal enclave.

An Israeli military offensive on Gaza in 2014 took away the lives of 2,323 Palestinians and ruined 12,000 civilian homes. The situation has gone far worse due to the tough Israeli blockade imposed on the territory for the 10th year running.

The Israeli gunboats chased down the Palestinian fishermen sailing off Khan Younis shore, in southern Gaza Strip, and unleashed random barrages of gunfire, forcing the fishermen to go ashore for fear of being killed.

Israeli soldiers, stationed on military towers across the border fence, opened fire on Sunday morning, into Palestinian agricultural lands east of Khuza’a town, east of the southern Gaza Strip district of Khan Younis.

Eyewitnesses said the soldiers fired many live rounds into the agricultural lands, forcing the farmers to leave in fear of further military escalations. The attack caused no injuries.

It is worth mentioning that a number of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles were also seen driving close to the border fence, in early morning hours, while military drones hovered over various areas on the coastal region.

Border areas in the Gaza Strip witness frequent violations, including repeated invasions, an issue that prevents the Palestinians from working on their own lands. Similar attacks also target fisher in Gaza territorial waters.

In addition, the soldiers kidnapped a limited military drill near Palestinian dwellings and communities, east of Tubas, in central West Bank.

The army frequently conducts training in certain areas, including al-Maleh, Al-Farisiyya and Umm al-Jimal, east of Tubas, and usually forces the families to leave during the training in the communities.

This time around, the soldiers conducted limited training without ordering the Palestinians to leave.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday morning opened fire at a Palestinian resistance watchtower to the east of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

According to SAFA news website, a lookout post belonging to al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, came under fire from Israeli soldiers in a border area east of Khuza'a town in Khan Younis.

None of the resistance fighters at the post was hurt in the gunfire attack.

Every once in a while, the Israeli army attacks Palestinian areas to the east and west of the Gaza Strip in violation of the ceasefire agreement that was brokered by Egypt following the 2014 war.

Israeli soldiers opened fire, earlier Saturday, into Palestinian agricultural lands, while navy ships also fired on a number of fishing boats, in the southern part of the coastal region.

Eyewitnesses said the soldiers, stationed on military towers across the border fence, fired several live rounds into Palestinian farmlands, east of the al-Qarara and Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis.

The attack caused no casualties, but forced the farmers out of their lands, in fear of further military assaults.

In addition, Israeli navy ships fired many live rounds targeting Palestinian fishing boats in Gaza waters, in Rafah and Khan Younis, in the southern part of the coastal region. The attack led to property damage, and forced the fishers back to shore.

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Wednesday advanced into Palestinian lands to the east of Rafah, in southern Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, and leveled lands amid hovering of army choppers.

Local sources told Quds Press that four Israeli military bulldozers advanced into lands to the east of Rafah for a limited distance estimated at 70 meters.

Four Israeli military vehicles were stationed at the military gate north of Rafah while two bulldozers and a huge military digger advanced into the border line near al-Farahein area amid hovering of army choppers, the sources added.

The Israeli army moved a number of diggers, which were working inside the security fence in 1948 Occupied Palestine, to eastern Rafah where digging works are taking place inside the fence, a field observer told Quds press.

The Israeli incursions at the Gaza border areas are conducted on a semi-daily basis leading to casualties and big losses among locals.

The attack is another episode in the series of Israeli violations of the Cairo-brokered truce accord signed on August 26, 2014 in the wake of the Israeli aggression on the besieged coastal enclave, which killed over 2,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

Nizar Ayyash, head of Gaza's Palestinian Fishermen Union, told Quds Press that a number of Israeli gunboats surrounded this morning four Palestinian fishing boats before commandeering them to Israel’s Ashdod port.

Ten fishermen, who were on the confiscated boats, were arrested during the attack, Ayyash added. Ayyash affirmed that the fishermen were sailing within the six-nautical-mile fishing zone imposed as part of Israel’s naval blockade.

On Tuesday night, an Israeli airstrike hit an agricultural area in Juhr Addik village in the southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported.

The Israeli army regularly open fire on Palestinian fisherman and farmers at sea and along the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the Israeli 2014 war on the enclave.